By Sue-Ann Wayow

THE Opposition United National Congress (UNC) is calling for a full public report following the general election on April 28 from the Caricom election observer mission.

The Opposition is also calling on the Election and Boundaries Commission (EBC) Chief Election Officer Fern Narcis Scope to state if any her political alliance.

The UNC met with the mission on Tuesday presenting them with a dossier of complaints against the EBC maintaining a biasness on the EBC’s part in favour of the ruling People’s National Movement (PNM).

Following the meeting at the Leader of the Opposition’s office in Port of Spain, part of the UNC delegation who met with the mission held a press conference to further bring their issues to the public’s attention.

The UNC delegation included Leader of Opposition Business in the Senate, Wade Mark, UNC’s general secretary Peter Kanhai and UNC’s attorney Darrell Allahar.

At the press conference, Allahar said, “The UNC expressed its hope at that meeting that the report of this observer mission would be made public because it is only right to do so. We emphasise that this generalised and sweeping preliminary statements that missions are accustomed given to the public at the end of the process… it does not reflect accurately what may have happened on the ground, and the issues that contestants in elections have faced including the UNC.”

He continued, “We are of the strong view that if any mission is to lend legitimacy and to judge the fairness or unfairness of any election, and we welcome observers of course, then those missions should make a full report of their observations and conclusions available to the public not just to the parties involved but to you the members of the public and the media of course. Anything less is a mere desktop study.”

Allahar said one of the duties of the mission would be to assess the levels of preparedness of the EBC.

“We actually doubt quite strongly that the Elections and Boundaries Commission is prepared for this election,” he said.

The dossier containing correspondence between the Opposition and the EBC and previous media releases on matters relating to the EBC presented to the Caricom Election Observer  Mission was also again shared with the media.

Allahar said, “We feel that in the interest of transparency, that dossier should be placed in the public domain because elections are conducted in the open. They are public affairs.

“Similarly, independent observers ought to operate in the open to preserve their independent status. The public is entitled to know what information the UNC  supplied to observers and what has been discussed, hence the press conference here today.”

“The UNC would expect that other political parties contesting these elections to be as forthright and open as the UNC has been,” he also said.

Allahar said the observers were told that the Opposition’s position was not mere political rhetoric but what the UNC characterised as “suspicious and very arbitrary conduct of the EBC and its officials ever since the election bell was rung.”

He also noted that the PNM seemed to have no issues with how the EBC was conducting the general election.

In one of the media releases, dated back in February, the UNC detailed the history of the EBC and its alleged biasness especially with a proposed new building to be located not far from the PNM’s headquarters at Balisier House in Port of Spain.

It also reminded of all the issues from the 2023 Local Government election especially in Lengua/Indianwalk which saw the electorate going to the polls three times in that electoral district.

More recently, the UNC also raised concerns about special voting arrangements especially for offshore workers.

And in a letter dated April 21, 2025, the UNC wrote to the EBC stating, “We have not yet reached Polling Day and the UNC has had cause to write to the EBC to complain about several matters. This latest issue is yet another example of arbitrary conduct by your election officials which is calculated to frustrate our campaign and waste our time and resources.

“Moving forward, we shall not be bullied by your Returning Officers setting “administrative deadlines” for their convenience and giving arbitrary and incorrect advice to candidates. We shall be guided by the law and the Election Rules.”

The latest issue outlined by the UNC was varying deadlines given by Returning Officers to UNC candidates for the appointment of Sub-Agents before the deadline of three clear days before Polling Day as required by Section 41(3) of the Representation of the People Act Chap- 2:01. EBC Returning Officers were insisting that the appointments be done by 21 or 22 April 2025, UNC’s General Secretary Peter Kanhai wrote to EBC Chief Election Officer Fern Narcis-Scope.

Allahar  called on Narcis-Scope to state whether she is or was a member of the PNM.

“Without casting any aspersions whatsoever, I think that it is only right and we call upon Ms Fern Narcis-Scope who is the Chief Election Officer at the EBC to tell us and to tell the national community because of the job she holds, to please tell us and be kind enough to say whether she is or is was at any time a member of the People’s National Movement?” he asked.

Allahar said she should issue a statement as soon as possible.